Camera Tripod "Rifle" Sets Off Chaminade School Campus Lockdown

Chaminade High School in West Hills was on a three-hour lockdown this morning after police received reports of a man possibly with a gun near campus.

The man in question turned out to be a student with a camera tripod. That's good news.

Yet while students and parents in the San Fernando Valley had relief from the weapon scare, people expressed disbelief: How could someone in the 21st century mistake a camera tripod for a gun?

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A caller -- some media outlets say it was a parent -- reported spotting a male in a "trench coat" with a rifle in the 7500 block of Chaminade Avenue around 9:40 a.m., said LAPD spokesperson Diana Figueroa. The Topanga station responded and searched the area.